


Lightyears and Light Bonds

by Lil_leels



Series: Glimmer Verse! [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, But not always, F/F, It will end happily though, Soul Mate AU, Soul mate bond, glimmer verse, it's sparkly and gay, light bonds, occasionally canonical, platonic soul mates, romantic soul mates, starts off hard with the angst, that doesn't mean its light and fluffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29965890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_leels/pseuds/Lil_leels
Summary: Kara Zor-El travels the length of the Universe from her home on Krypton to her new home on Earth and one thing remains the same: some lights cannot be extinguished, some bonds cannot be broken, and some people are just meant to be. Afterall, the Universe is the ultimate shipper.Of course, knowing the Universe wants you together and figuring out how to actually be together are two different things entirely.IT'S A WORKING TITLE... PLEASE DON'T GET ATTACHED!
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: Glimmer Verse! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2204025
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	1. Light Extinguished

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to do my best to explain the glimmer through the story but if people seem really confused, at some point, I will post the glimmer verse rules. 
> 
> For now, all you need to know is that significant people to you form light bonds with you of their personal color and transfer some of that light to you. Children are always white and developing their own colour is part of maturing. The light shimmers just beneath your skin and can, usually, only be seen by people who share a light bond with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Death, loss of life, planetwide destruction, male ego, hospital scenes

Kara Zor-El tried to keep up with her mother as they hurried through the city in a blurred haze. Alura, her mother, was speaking quickly and quietly. Kara usually loved listening to her mother speak. Alura could always explain things in a way that made Kara feel confident. Now, though, her mother’s voice was laced with desperation and something a little too much like fear. She spoke of terrifying things. Of destruction and death. Of the world ending and of scions. Of lasts. 

Kara did not want to be a last. She wanted her mother to take her back to bed, to apologise for scaring her, kiss her goodnight and promise that all would be well in the morning. Something about her mother’s voice told Kara that wouldn’t be happening. The constantly quivering ground beneath her feet confirmed that. 

Alura led her to a pod. Her father, Zor-El, and her uncle Jor-El were a flurry of activity. Her aunt Lara stood to one side bouncing her sleeping infant cousin Kal-El, tears openly streaking down her face. 

‘They’re ready,’ Jor-El says to his wife. Kara can hear his heartbreaking, ‘it’s time.’ 

‘No,’ Lara whispers, ‘no, not yet.’ She clutches Kal-El close to her chest, smelling the dark curls on his head, ‘I’m not ready yet.’ 

‘Lara,’ Jor-El says, ‘we must.’ But even as he says it, he steps in closer to his wife and son, one hand coming up to tenderly cusp the infant’s head. 

‘Kara,’ her mother says, drawing her attention back to her, ‘Kara do you remember what I said?’ 

Kara looks up at her mother, big blue eyes brimming with tears, ‘I have to take care of Kal. Protect him. We are the last scions of the house of El.’ 

‘That’s right,’ Alura says, her fingers stroking Kara’s cheeks softly, ‘you must teach him of Krypton. Of his past, his home.’ Alura’s voice breaks with emotion, ‘you’ll have to remember for both you Kara.’ 

‘Alura,’ her father says, ‘they have to go. Now.’ 

To Kara’s left Lara is laying Kal in a pod. She carefully presses a necklace around him. She kisses his peacefully sleeping baby forehead before stepping back. Alura tugs Kara’s arm, guiding her to a second pod. Guiding Kara in. 

Alura pulls off her own necklace, hanging it around Kara’s neck. She kisses Kara’s forehead. ‘I love you,’ Alura whispers softly, ‘do not be afraid.’ 

Kara’s father presses his forehead to hers. His voice is rough with emotion when he speaks, ‘you are the best of us Kara Zor-El.’ 

Kal’s pod launches with a triumphant whoosh at the same moment the ground beneath them trembles violently. Kara hears her aunt cry out, sees her fall to her knees, Jor-El catches her, softens the blow, his arms wrapped around her protectively. ‘I’ll take care of Kal,’ Kara tells her aunt and uncle, ‘I promise.’ Her uncle nods, solemnly. 

Then her own pod is closing. Kara looks over her shoulder to her mother. Kara can see the tears on her mother’s face. Kara tries to turn more fully. She sees her mother mouth the words ‘be brave’ and then her pod is launching. 

Kara watches her parents for as long as she can, until they are mere ants on a platform. Until that platform is a grey building. Until that building is merely a twinkling light. Until those lights were engulfed by a world of twinkling lights. Until Krypton itself was in front of her. 

Kara sobs as the planet seems to shiver, quiver before breaking apart. Shattering. ‘Mama!’ Kara screams, ‘Papa!’ She slams her hands against the window, demanding the pod take her back. 

The pod shudders as a shockwave rolls past. Kara freezes, afraid to move. The haptic display flickers. Then something collides with her pod. Later Kara will realise it’s part of Krypton. Planet debris turned into space debris due to the force of Krypton’s explosion. It sends Kara’s pod careening, the little girl inside screaming. The haptics go dark. All the light in the universe seems to wink out. Every distant star, the moons, all of it, gone. 

Kara draws in a breath and waits. Waits for the insidious cold of space. Waits for her lungs to stop. Waits for the dark to take her. Her heart beats rapidly, painfully in her chest. Kara draws her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around them, and begs the universe to give her her mother. 

Her glimmer flares then. The pale light that lived beneath her skin lit up her pod. Kara watches as the calming tendrils of purple flicker across her skin. They curl around her elbows and flicker across her fingers. Her mother’s purple is darker and richer. It plays with Kara’s white light and her father’s lavender. They encompass her, surrounding her in light and memory.  Kara lets the glimmer comfort her, lull her closer to sleep. After all, it had been the middle of the night. As the little girl drifts off, Kara has two thoughts. The first was that wherever she was in the universe, not all the light of it had been extinguished. The second was that she would never see her parent’s glimmer again. Kara was alone. The last scion of the house of El, the last Kryptonian. Well, Kara thinks sadly, her and Kal. Kara hopes Kal’s pod is out there, somewhere in front of hers, waiting for her to catch up.

* * *

Lena Kieran held tightly to her teddy bear as the nurses and doctors moved around her mother. Lena could hear the steady beep beep beeping of machines around her. Beyond the nurses and doctors, Lena could just make out her mother’s hand. 

Lena had slipped from her chair earlier, she’d pushed through two nurses, grabbing for her mother. Lena just wanted her mother. 

Her mother’s hand was blue, though, and cold. ‘Mama!’ Lena had cried, ‘Mama wake up! Wake! Up!’ One of the nurses had grabbed her, swooping her up into warm but unfamiliar arms. 

‘Shh,’ the nurse hushed her firmly but kindly, ‘come on, let’s find you a friend.’ The nurse had hauled Lena away, the little girl screaming for her mother the entire time. Lena had quieted some when the nurse found her a teddy bear. The nurse deposited the small girl into a chair in her mother’s hospital room and Lena had quieted herself completely. 

Lena looked at her mother’s hand. Something was very, very wrong. The hand that Lena had grabbed hadn’t moved and it was still blue. Lena can’t tell time. She doesn’t know how yet but Lena knows it’s been too long. Her Mama should have moved. Should have woken up. But she hadn’t. 

Lena can feel her lights glowing, the ones that her Mama said connected them. She could see her mother’s green light flickering under her skin, moving softly. Lena hugs her teddy bear tightly and watches that green twist around her fingers. And then the machines stop beeping. The doctors stop. The nurses stop. The world stops. Lena’s world stops. 

‘Mama?’ Lena asks when one of the nurses turns to her. 

‘She’s,’ the nurse begins before stopping. The nurse kneels down, looking Lena in the eye, ‘she’s gone sweetie.’ 

Lena cries then, holding her teddy bear close. Her light flares again. Soft and green, green like her Mama’s eyes. Lena cries herself to sleep in the nurses lap, wishing it was her mother instead. 

The nurse wakes Lena sometime later. A stern looking man with hair as dark as hers is standing over her. His eyes are grey and his eyebrows look like the fuzzy black caterpillars Lena and her mother would look for on the underside of leaves on warm summer days. 

‘Lena Kieran?’ The man asks in a deep voice. Lena burrows a little closer to the nurse, afraid. 

‘My name is Lionel Luthor,’ the man says, ‘and I am your father.’ 

Lena had heard stories about her father. Her mother had told Lena stories about a kind, handsome man. Her father was smart and most of all, her mother always said, he loved Lena with all his heart. Lena didn’t think that described the man in front of her. 

Lionel Luthor looked nothing like the princes in her fairy books. Princes did not have caterpillar eyebrows. Lionel also did not appear kind. He seemed annoyed. Like the grumpy old man at the library who always told Lena to be quiet. He had caterpillar eyebrows too, only his were grey. And maybe, slightly, hairier. 

‘Well?’ Lionel asked, ‘are you going to say hello?’ 

‘Hullo,’ Lena murmurs before burying her face in the nurses chest. 

The man above her grunts, ‘shy thing, isn’t she?’ 

The nurse strokes Lena’s hair tenderly, a little like her Mama had, ‘the poor thing just lost her mother.’

The man grunts again, ‘do I need to sign anything?’ 

‘No Mr. Luthor,’ the nurse replies, ‘Miss Kieran’s paperwork was all in order. You’re both free to leave. Would you like to carry her?’ 

‘How old is she?’ the man asks. Lena hides deeper in the woman’s arms. Lena does not want this man. She does not want this father. Lena wants her mother. 

‘Four or so,’ the nurse replies, ‘do you want to tell your Da how old you are sweetie?’ 

Lena shakes her head and tries to hold the woman tighter. 

‘She can walk then,’ the man says, ‘Luthor’s are not weak.’ 

The man stands her up then, his big hand wrapping around her tiny wrist, prying her from the nurses lap. There’s a brilliant flash of light. Lena can see the man’s colors. It’s green like her mama’s but where her Mama was bright and alive, the green of summer leaves, the man’s was darker. Duller. The color of dead grass in winter. Olive, she would one day learn. Lena doesn’t like seeing it in her skin, next to her Mama’s colors. She doesn’t want it. She wishes it would go away. 

But it doesn’t. 

The man takes her teddy and hands it back to the nurse, ‘thank you for caring for my daughter. We’ll be on our way.’ 

‘Oh,’ the nurse says, clearly surprised, ‘the teddy’s for her. She can keep it.’ 

The man shakes his head, ‘she’s a Luthor. Luthor’s are not weak. They do not need stuffed toys.’ Then the man is walking, Lena’s wrist caught firmly in his grasp. He walks fast, fast enough that Lena’s little legs must run to keep up. 

‘Where are we going?’ Lena asks, ‘I want to go home. I want mama’ 

Lionel looks at her without stopping, ‘we’re going to America, Lena. You’re going to have a new home, a new Mother. And a brother.’ 

‘I want my mama!’ Lena cries again. She doesn’t want America. She doesn’t want a brother or a new mother. ‘Mama!’ Lena cries. ‘Mama!’ 

Lionel freezes, he shakes Lena’s wrist to get her attention, ‘your mama is dead Lena. She’s gone. Forever.’ The man shudders, almost as if he himself was going to cry, ‘there’s no getting her back. I’m sorry. But things will be a lot easier for you if you stop talking about her. Your new mother, Lillian, she won’t like that. You want your new mother to like you, right?’ 

Lena blinks in confusion. Then, slowly, she nods her head. 

‘Good,’ Lionel says, ‘just forget about this place. Forget about Ireland. You’re a Luthor now. Lena Luthor. The sooner you learn that, the better.’ 

Lena nods numbly and follows Lionel quietly. Lena doesn’t like this new green and she really doesn’t like being a Luthor. 


	2. Better Off Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS: child adoption, immigration, homophobia, child abandonment

Alex Danvers taps the eraser end of her pencil on her notebook, stealing another look out of the kitchen window. Her father would be home any minute. Any minute. 

‘Alex,’ Eliza’s voice calls from the other room, warning. ‘You know the rules.’ 

Alex sighs and focuses back on her book report. She doesn’t know how her mother always knew when Alex’s attention was waning. The ‘rules’ were that Alex’s homework had to be finished before her father could take her out on one of their science expeditions. Ordinarily, that wasn’t a problem for Alex. She was good at math and science, finishing those quickly, readily. But this? This was English. Specifically, a report on Romeo and Juliet and Alex just… didn’t care. 

As far as Alex was concerned, Romeo and Juliet were both stupid kids who needed some sense smacked into them. The adults around them needed some common sense too. Who lets kids get married? Worse, who sells a kid some poison? But Alex didn’t think her teacher was interested in that take. No doubt she wanted some kind of expose on the fleetingness of romance or the consequences of harboring a grudge. Alex sighs. Who really cared what Shakespeare thought? He was some long dead white guy. 

Alex sighs and puts her pencil to her paper. Her friends were probably writing reports on how much of a heart throb Romeo was and how romantic it was of him to die for Juliet. Alex hesitates.  _ She  _ didn’t think it was romantic but she also didn’t want to be the only one of her friends who didn’t think so. Alex is saved from further thought by the arrival of her father. 

‘Eliza, Alex,’ Jeremiah calls, ‘I’m home! And I have guests!’ 

Alex looks up at that, hastily shoving her school work away. She could always finish her essay in homeroom tomorrow. When all of her things are back in her bag Alex hurries towards the living room. 

‘Clark!’ Alex cries when she sees the dark haired man. 

‘Alex!’ Clark says with a grin, ‘how’s the littlest Danvers?’ He holds out his hand for their secret handshake. Alex was definitely too old for secret handshakes but she also couldn’t say no to Clark. When they end by bumping hips Alex finally notices who else is in the room with them. Peering quietly from behind Clark was a little blonde haired, blue eyed girl. She was a few years younger than Alex. 

‘Who’re you?’ Alex asks, her eyebrows furrowing. 

The girl looks up at Clark and chatters away in a language that Alex doesn’t recognise. Clark places one big hand on the girls back and responds to her in kind. Alex definitely catches her name being said. 

‘I’m Alex,’ Alex says sticking her hand out towards the girl. The girl flinches and stares at Alex’s hand. 

Clark says something in that strange language again and after far too long the girl shakes Alex’s hand. ‘This is Kara,’ Clark says to Alex, ‘my cousin.’ 

‘Your cousin?’ Alex says frowning, putting the pieces together, ‘but that means she’s-’ 

‘Kryptonian,’ Clark confirms quietly. Alex can see something like sadness in Clark’s eyes. ‘She just arrived and she’s still adjusting.’ 

Alex frowns, ‘didn’t your planet… like a long time ago?’ Alex asks not trying to be rude. She just didn’t understand how Clark’s cousin could be from a planet that exploded in the 70’s when the girl herself looked maybe 13.

‘Yes,’ Clark says his eyes darkening, ‘I don’t fully understand it myself.’ 

It’s all the information Clark gives and Alex scuffs her toe at the tile wondering what to say. ‘So,’ Alex says, ‘do you need hand-me downs or something?’ 

Clark looks from her to Kara and then back towards the stairs. He was listening. Alex tries not to sigh aloud. She’d kill to have super hearing. ‘I think,’ Clark says lightly, ‘that’s something best left for your parents to explain Alex.’ 

‘Oh,’ Alex says, ‘well are you staying for dinner? I was gonna set the table.’ 

‘We are,’ Clark confirms. Then he speaks to the blonde girl in Kryptonian. ‘Kara will help you.’ He gives the blonde protesting girl a light push in Alex’s direction. 

For a moment Alex can read fear all over Kara’s face. Alex tries to reassure the girl, offering a smile. ‘Come on Kara,’ Alex says, ‘I’ll show you.’ 

Alex gives Kara the plates figuring those were probably pretty universal. Everyone eats food off of something. Utensils, well, those weren’t even the same on Earth. Alex didn’t want to try to guess what they used on Krypton. 

‘Al-ex,’ Kara says, her tone uncertain. Alex’s name is broken into two tones, awkward and uncomfortable on the younger girl’s tongue. 

Alex offers another small smile, ‘yeah you can just put them on the table.’ Alex shows Kara with the utensils. Kara seems to understand because she follows Alex around the table setting down plates. Alex passes Kara the water pitcher and indicates for the younger girl to follow her, filling glasses as they go. 

Alex has prepared the salad and finished pulling the lasagna out of the over and is just beginning to wonder if she should call for her parents when they walk in with Clark. Jeremiah grins at Alex, pressing a fatherly kiss to the top of her head, ‘hey kid.’ 

‘Hey, Dad,’ Alex says grinning up at her father. He was her hero. One of the world’s foremost experts in alien biology, technology and science and all around genius. 

‘Thank you for finishing dinner,’ Eliza says giving Alex’s shoulder a reassuring pat, ‘and you must be Kara.’ 

The attention of the room shifts from Alex to Kara. The blonde girl shifts uncomfortably. She looks at Alex then at Clark before bursting into a long breathless bit of kryptonian. Clark frowns, ‘Kara,’ Clark says softly, ‘slow down. I don’t understand. Please.’ His town is soothing but Alex can see irritation in his eyes. His words have the opposite effect on the younger girl. She seems to speak faster, tears in her eyes. Clark shakes his head sadly and looks at Jeremiah, helplessness on his face. 

Alex puts a hand on Kara’s shoulder. The girl flinches. There’s a flare of bright light between the two of them, a glimmer. Kara falls quiet before looking at Alex. ‘Al-lex,’ Kara says again. Alex isn't surprised by the glimmer. She and Clark shared a light bond as well. It made sense that Kara would be important to her. 

Alex grins, ‘let’s eat.’ She points at the food and pantomimes shoving food in her face. Kara giggles, whether because she likes the idea or because Alex looked like a complete idiot. Alex guides Kara to her seat at the table and serves the younger girl a plate. The adults seem to be having one of those non-verbal conversations that they think kids are oblivious to. Alex ignores them and serves herself. She digs in and Kara follows her lead.

‘So Alex,’ Jeremiah begins, ‘Clark and Kara are going to be staying with us for a few days. I hope you don’t mind sharing a room with Kara.’ 

Alex pauses her fork halfway to her mouth. Alex’s teenager senses were tingling. There was a trap in that question. ‘Uh, sure,’ Alex says, ‘I don’t mind sharing for a few days.’ 

‘Good,’ Jeremiah says with an affectionate smile towards his daughter. ‘Kara is new here and things are a little overwhelming for both Kara and Clark. We’re going to try and get them both settled.’ 

‘Okay,’ Alex says with a shrug, ‘I love having Clark here.’ She grins at the man she considered to be an older brother. Clark’s return smile was hesitant, not reaching his eyes. 

‘Thank you Alex,’ Clark says quietly, ‘I really think this is for the best.’ 

‘Sure,’ Alex says with a grin, ‘it’s been a while since our last baseball match.’ 

Clark flinches, ‘I should probably focus on helping Kara Alex. I’m not sure we’ll have time for baseball.’ 

‘Oh,’ Alex says disappointedly, ‘right.’ 

‘Baze-ball?’ Kara says, her eyebrows knitted together. ‘Al-lex?’ 

Alex sighs, she had a feeling she would be pantomiming a lot of things the next few days. ‘Ball,’ Alex says, making a circle with her hands. 

Kara copies her movements, ‘ball?’ 

Alex frowns and shakes her head, she crumples a paper towel into a ball and shows it Kara saying ‘ball.’ Alex tosses it lightly towards Kara whose eyes go wide and bright red. In a flash of heat the napkin ball is incinerated. 

‘Woah,’ Alex says. The rest of the adults seem shocked into silence. Kara begins talking in Kryptonian again. Alex can tell she’s about to cry. ‘Kara,’ Alex says, ‘do it again.’ Then Alex makes a ‘pew-pew’ sound and points her fingers out of her eyes like laser beams. She goes to ball up another paper towel. Eliza’s hand stops her. 

‘Alex,’ Eliza says warningly. 

‘Sorry Mom,’ Alex says even though she’s not, ‘could we do it outside.’ 

Eliza looks at Jeremiah who is beaming then at Clark who has his head in his hands. She sighs and says, ‘fine but not around any buildings. I mean it Alex Danvers. I don’t want to find any scorch marks.’ 

Alex whoops, ‘come on Kara! Let’s go. Pew-pew.’ 

‘Pew pew? Alex?’ Kara says, her pronunciation of Alex improving every time. Alex grins and takes Kara by the hand, leading her out back for her new favorite game. 

Unfortunately, even the allure of setting fire to paper balls with alien eyeball lasers wears off after a while. Kara has been with them for about a month when Clark leaves. Kara’s English has improved by leaps and bounds but Alex is tired of having Kara in her space. She’s tired of never having friends over lest they discover the weird alien in Alex’s closet. And Alex did mean the closet because that’s where Kara hid half of the time, trying to shut out whatever new scary thing the world had in store for her today. 

‘Alex,’ Jeremiah calls as Alex comes crashing down the stairs one evening a few days after Clark had left, ‘can you come in here for a minute?’ 

If it had been her mom, Alex might have sighed and rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah Dad,’ Alex says trotting into the dining room where both of her parents are sitting. 

‘We’d like to talk to you,’ Eliza says, ‘about Kara.’ 

‘Have a seat A,’ Jeremiah says, his eyes are twinkling.

‘Okay,’ Alex says, her teenager senses tingling again, ‘what about Kara? Is Clark gonna take her home finally? Cause it’d be great to have my closet back.’ 

‘Actually,’ Eliza says exchanging a look with Jeremiah, ‘we’ve talked with Clark and we all agree that it’s in Kara’s best interest if she stays with us.’ 

‘Oh,’ Alex says, ‘kay. I guess I can cope for a couple more weeks.’ Alex thinks it’s a pretty generous offer. Kara was literally hiding in  _ her  _ clothes as they spoke. 

‘No,’ Jeremiah says with a chuckle, ‘honey, we’re going to adopt her.’ 

Alex blinks slowly looking at her parents, ‘adopt her. As in…’ 

‘Permanently,’ Jeremiah says with a cheerful grin, ‘she’ll be your little sister.’ 

‘My little sister who was born decades before me,’ Alex mutters under her breath. 

‘Alex,’ Eliza says with a frown. 

‘You weren’t even going to ask me? I mean,’ Alex begins to grow angrier, ‘maybe I don’t want some alien girl following me around everywhere. Maybe I want to bring my friends over without worrying about them finding out I have a freak sister who can levitate. Did you think about that? Huh? Did you?’ 

‘Alexandra,’ Jeremiah says, his tone full of disappointment, ‘that little girl lost everything. Her home, her family, her planet. She needs our help, our love. She needs to be with a family who loves her. We can be that family for her.’ 

‘Why can’t Clark be that family for her? They’re  _ actually family.’  _ Alex spits out. 

‘Honey,’ Eliza says and Alex can hear the bad news in her voice, ‘Clark’s a very busy, very single man. He’s not ready to be a father. And Kara… she’s…’ Eliza hesitates choosing her words, ‘she has a lot of needs. A lot of grief. Clark isn’t ready to deal with that. He doesn’t have the support to deal with it.’ 

‘But I have to be?’ Alex retorts angrily. ‘So Clark gets to run off and play an alien superhero but I have to let his alien cousin live under my jeans for the rest of my life?’ 

‘That is enough,’ Jeremiah says, his tone angry and disappointed. It silences Alex. ‘I did not raise my daughter to believe anyone was beneath her, of this Earth or not. Kara is a person Alex and I will not hear you refer to her as an alien again.’ 

‘Fine,’ Alex says crossing her arms across her chest. She feels guilty, angry, and ashamed. Her father was right but she wasn’t going to tell him that. 

‘No one is asking you to deal with Kara’s trauma Alex,’ Eliza offers, ‘we aren’t even asking you to let her live in your closet. We’ll convert the guest bedroom into Kara’s room.’ 

‘Then what do you want from me?’ Alex asks. 

There’s a long moment of silence while her parents exchange silent looks, having a whole conversation. ‘We wanted to inform you,’ Jeremiah begins, ‘that this is our decision and it is final. Kara will be a Danvers and while you may or may not like it, Kara is your sister. You don’t have to like her. You don’t have to be her friend but you will treat her with kindness and respect.’ 

‘We also wanted to know your thoughts and feelings on the matter,’ Eliza says softly. ‘Your opinion matters to us.’ 

‘Clearly,’ Alex says with an eye roll. 

‘It is,’ Eliza says it again, ‘we always want to know how you feel Alex. Even if it doesn’t change our final decision.’ 

‘Fine,’ Alex says, ‘can I go now? I was going to meet some friends at the beach.’ 

‘Yes, you may,’ Eliza says. 

‘Be back by sundown!’ Jeremiah calls after her, ‘we’re ordering pizza to celebrate!’ 

Alex doesn’t bother responding but she does pause at the door to listen to her parents talking. 

‘-went wrong with her. I thought she knew better than to judge someone on anything less than their character.’ Jeremiah says, sounding sad, ‘how could she have such a strong anti-alien bias at such a young age? She grew up around aliens.’ 

‘She’s a teenager Jeremiah. She doesn’t like anything,’ Eliza says with amusement in her voice, ‘she barely likes herself.’ Alex flinches, that was a little too close to the truth. 

‘Can’t she see how amazing having a little sister will be?’ Jeremiah asks, ‘she’ll get to teach Kara about all the best things in life. And Kara can teach Alex things about the world and the universe that are beyond Alex’s wildest imaginings.’

‘No,’ Eliza says quickly, ‘of course she can’t. All she sees is some strange person hiding in her closet and eating her favorite food. She’ll get there though, I know she will. Alex will be a great big sister one day.’ Alex feels herself getting choked up, moved by her mother’s faith in her. 

‘Let’s hope our younger daughter takes the news a little better,’ Jeremiah says tiredly. 

‘We’re going to have a younger daughter,’ Eliza says softly, ‘I can’t believe we’re going to have a second daughter!’ Alex can hear her mother’s excitement and Alex feels guilty for not sharing it. 

Jeremiah chuckles, ‘we already have a second daughter but let’s go make it official, hmmm?’ 

Alex moves then, towards the front door. A bit of light at the corner of her eye catches Alex’s attention, Kara is sitting on the stairs. Her face is streaked in tears and her blue eyes are sad. Her glimmer is shining but it looks sad, almost like Kara was comforting herself with the light. Purple tendrils curled around her arms and shoulders in a kind of embrace. She stares down at Alex, not saying a word but Alex can tell she had been listening. She must have heard every word. Alex gulps. She thinks about saying something, apologising perhaps. For a moment, she almost does. 

‘Kara dear,’ Eliza calls, shattering the moment. 

‘Coming,’ Kara calls back, standing slowly. Alex turns tail and runs. It’s not like she ever wanted a sister anyways. 

* * *

Maggie Sawyer trembled as she looked at the Valentine’s Day card in her hand. It was silly. Cut out hearts in her’s and Elisa’s favorite colors, each one painstakingly glued to the front. Maggie takes in a haggard breath. This whole idea was silly.

Maggie steps away from her best friend and secret crushes locker. She just needed to breathe. To think. She needed a moment to decide. Of course, she needed to make that moment quick because the bell was going to ring any moment which meant Elisa would be at her locker any moment and Maggie definitely does not want to  _ be  _ there when she opens it. 

Maggie had always felt different. In kindergarten, when the other girls were busy dressing up as princesses, Maggie had always wanted to be the daring prince swooping in to save the day. Her Papa had beamed and told her that being a ‘great protector’ was in her blood. That one day, she would be a great cop. Maggie hopes that is true. She wants to be a cop, just like her Papa. She wants to save the world. But saving people wasn’t all of it, Maggie wanted to save  _ princesses _ . One princess in particular. 

‘Cliche Sawyer,’ Maggie says softly to herself, ‘she’s not a princess. It’s Elisa. She’s your best friend.’ Maggie lets out a shaky breath. It’s Elisa.  _ Her best friend _ . Maggie sighs. She could trust Elisa. Maggie’s fairly certain Elisa feels the same way. One of them just had to be brave enough to admit it. Maggie takes a confident step forward, she could do this. She could be that person. She could do this for Elisa. Maggie pushes the card through the slot of her best friend’s locker just as the period bell rings. Then Maggie does the only thing she can think, she runs away. 

Maggie doesn’t see Elisa for the rest of the day. She hadn’t been expecting to. Maggie had planned it that way. Maggie  _ thought  _ that if Elisa didn’t feel the same way, she wouldn’t have to see her again until tomorrow. Maggie  _ thought  _ it was a good idea. But the churning in her stomach and the way her eyes desperately searched the throng of students for Elisa’s familiar grin made Maggie think otherwise. 

When Maggie isn’t imagining all the horrible ways Elisa could reject her, she imagines dancing with Elisa at the school dance. Both of them in pretty dresses. Elisa’s body soft and warm against hers. It makes Maggie’s whole body tingle. 

Maggie shifts the weight of her backpack, fumbling for her house key to let herself in, her mind already dialing Elisa’s number. 

‘Oscar,’ Maggie hears her mother say, ‘she’s home.’ 

Maggie looks up in surprise. It was unusual for both of her parents to be home afterschool. ‘Hey Mama,’ Maggie says. Her Mama looks sad, her eyes are brimming with tears. Maggie gulps. ‘Mama? Que paso? What is it?’ 

‘Mija,’ her Mama whispers sadly, ‘Mister Wilkey called Mija. How could you do this? What were you thinking?’ 

Maggie gasps. ‘What did Mister Wilkey say Mama?’ 

Her mama shakes her head, standing and walking down the hallway. Maggie can hear a whispered, ‘Dios mio.’ 

Her Papa appears then, ‘let’s go.’ Maggie wants to ask where but then she sees what was in his hand. Her suitcase. Her Papa grabs his car keys and pushes past her. Maggie follows wordlessly. 

Maggie climbs into the front seat as her father puts the suitcase in the car. He climbs in and starts the car. Maggie watches as the trees of their neighborhood flash by. 

Elisa had told her parents. She had told her parents about Maggie’s card. She had told them that Maggie had asked her to the dance. And then her parents had called Maggie’s parents. They told Maggie’s parents. Maggie feels a swell of fear and shame threatening to swamp her. 

‘Papa?’ Maggie asks some time later, her voice cracking with emotion. Then Maggie asks. She asks because she has to know. She has to hear it from his lips. Maggie asks, even though she is terrified to know, ‘what did I do wrong?’ 

Maggie’s father is silent for a while. Maggie wonders if he will answer her at all. When he speaks, there’s sorrow in his voice. Sorrow and anger. ‘You,’ he begins. He pauses. He gulps, then he begins again, ‘you shamed me.’ 

That’s it. That’s all he says. But it’s enough. It’s too much. It breaks Maggie in a way that promises she will never be whole again. How could she be when her Papa was refusing to so much as look at her? Maggie isn’t sure how long she sits in that front seat, her heart shattering, a chasm between her and her Papa but it feels like an eternity. 

And then Maggie realises where they are. Her father pulls over. ‘Get out,’ her Papa says. Maggie does as he says, she takes her backpack and the suitcase he packed for her. As soon as the back door closes, her father takes off, leaving Maggie on the side of the road. Maggie collapses right there. 

Her glimmer flares. Maggie watches through tear stained eyes. Her mother’s marigold and her father’s vibrant red flicker, they twist in on themselves, and then they shrink. Smaller and smaller until Maggie’s entire body seems to be composed of her own white light. Alone. Maggie realises. She’s alone. That’s what her glimmer is telling her. Maggie didn’t have anyone of significance. Not anymore. 

For a moment, only a moment, Maggie watches in horror as her parents colors shrink. Then she rolls her eyes, willing herself to not care. ‘Thanks for pointing out the obvious,’ Maggie tells the universe. She adjusts her backpack, picks up her suitcase and heads for her Aunt’s house. Hopefully her Aunt would take her in. At least then Maggie would have a roof over her head and some place to call home. Until she figured the rest of it out. She would show them, she would show them all. Maggie Sawyer didn’t need anyone else’s colors, she would be just fine on her own. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suppose I should inform you all that I stopped watching the show in early season 3 (pretty much up until the Sanvers break up) and then I couldn't do it. I loved Sam and Ruby and had no desire to watch that disaster unfold and I also didn't want to watch Lena and Kara walk down such dark, dangerous, deadly paths. Perhaps, depending on how they end the show, I will go back and watch the rest of the series but I am not holding my breath. So while I love that there's a trans superhero and she seems incredible, I can't write her. So this fic will be characters will be limited. And plot lines may or may not be connected to show as I go along. It's my fic and I do what I want! :)


	3. Checkmate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Verbal abuse, child abuse (verbal), image managment/insults, emotional manipulation, death, funerals, wakes 
> 
> Basically, Lillian is horrible.

‘Checkmate!’ Lena says, her voice betraying her sense of confidence. 

Lex scowls, examining the board, searching for an escape. ‘That’s,’ the older boy stutters, ‘that’s not possible. You’re five.’ 

‘Six,’ Lena corrects her older brother. 

‘Whatever,’ Lex says running a hand through his hair in the way he did when he was trying to look cool. Lena stifled a giggle at her brother’s expense. ‘I can’t believe you beat me,’ Lex says in a huff. Then he grins at Lena a wicked, daring grin, ‘wanna go again?’ 

‘Yes!’ Lena says excitedly. 

Lex grins and begins to pull the pieces off the chess table, ‘alright but this time we’re playing without the pieces.’ 

‘Without the pieces?’ Lena asks, her eyebrows furrowing, ‘how can we play without the pieces?’ 

Lex chuckles, ‘you’ll have to focus. Remember. Hold it all in your mind. Set the board up in your mind. I’ll be white.’ Lena frowns concentrating at the board. She could sort of see it. The pawns lined up in their second rows, the King and Queen in their places in the center back. ‘Have you got it?’ Lex asks her. 

‘Yes,’ Lena says, because she can see how the pieces start. 

‘This,’ Lex says pointing to his right side white rook’s position, ‘is A1.’ Lex moves his finger across the board to his left rook, ‘this is e1. What are your rooks?’ 

Lena consider’s Lex’s question. The chess board was a grid and Lex’s rows were the same, which meant Lena’s would correlate. Lena points to her first rook, ‘A8.’ Lena slides her finger to the opposite rook ‘E8.’ 

‘That’s great Lee!’ Lex says with a grin, ‘see you’re going to figure it out in no time.’ 

Lena grins at her older brother’s praise. He was always doing things like this, testing Lena. Lena loved and hated it. She didn’t understand why they couldn’t play with the pieces. They were right there. But Lena loves making Lex proud. She loved impressing him. Even when that meant playing a game of chess without any pieces at all. ‘You go first,’ Lena says quietly, a warm blush on her cheek. 

The first few turns Lex taps the piece he’s moving with a finger before tapping that pieces ending place as a visual for Lena. Lena does the same, trying to remember exactly where all the ‘pieces’ were. 

‘You can’t move there,’ Lex says quietly after a few rounds, ‘my pawn is there.’ 

Lena frowns. She replays the match in her head. Tries to recall where all the pieces are but they’re going fuzzy. Her lower lip quivers. ‘I’m sorry,’ Lena whispers sadly, ‘I can’t do it.’ 

Lex chuckles, ‘honestly Lena? You did better than I expected for the first time.’ He hands her, her pieces. ‘Set them up, we’ll see how much you did remember.’ Lena tries, really tries. In the end, Lex corrects only a few spaces. Then he pats her head and tells her she did well. Lena grins at the praise, her glimmer flaring. Lex’s teal swirls wiggle and shift in a happy dance under her skin. 

‘What’s this?’ Lillian’s voice cuts through the room. Lena’s grin disappears. 

‘We were playing chess mother,’ Lex says politely with a wink to Lena. 

‘She should not be playing. She needs to be studying.’ Lillian says gesturing at Lena without so much as looking at Lena. Lena shrinks further into her chair, willing herself to disappear, as she always did in Lillian’s presence. ‘And you, you have exams to be preparing for.’ 

Lex rolls his eyes, ‘you’re right Mother. We were simply taking a break.’ 

‘A break?’ Lillian says, voice dripping with disdain. It was Lillian’s specialty. Lena hated it. ‘Luthor’s do not  _ get  _ breaks. Luthor’s work twice as hard as anyone else in the room to be four times better.’ 

Lex sighs and nods biting his tongue, ‘of course Mother.’ 

Lillian’s face softens for a moment looking at her son, ‘you know I only want what is best for you Lex.’ 

Lex offers her a sad smile, ‘I know Mother. Come on Lee. We have studies to get to.’ Lex holds out a hand to his little sister. Lena takes it, grateful to not be left alone with Lillian. 

‘Lena,’ Lillian says as they reach the door. Lex and Lena pause, looking back at Lillian. ‘I expect you to make yourself more presentable for dinner.’ She gestures at Lena’s school uniform which Lena had  _ thought  _ was impeccable. ‘There’s nothing to be done about your morose looks but you could at least appear to care how you look. You are a Luthor, afterall. You must take care how you present yourself. Your poor image reflects on the rest of us,  _ dear _ .’ 

Lena feels her lip quivering. Lex squeezes her hand and offers her a reassuring smile. ‘I’ll help her,’ Lex tells his Mother solemnly, ‘I’ll take care of it.’ 

Lillian lets out a small sigh, ‘I will never understand why she insists on shaming this family. After all we’ve done for her.’ 

When they’ve left the room, Lex tugs Lena into a hug, ‘don’t listen to her Lee. She’s having a bad day. You’ll be the greatest Luthor of us all.’ 

Lena sniffs and buries her face in her brother’s side. ‘Do you really think so?’ Lena asks sadly. 

‘I know so,’ Lex says with a grin down at his little sister. 

‘How?’ Lena asks looking up at her big brother, eyes wide with adoration and hope. 

Lex laughs, his green eyes sparkling in amusement, ‘because you’ll have me guiding the way!’ 

Lena laughs then too. Lex was right, he’d look out for her. He’d show her how everything she needed to know. He’d never lead Lena astray. ‘Thank you Lex,’ Lena says. She means I love you Lex but that wasn’t a Luthor approved statement. 

Lex ruffles Lena’s hair lightly, ‘you betcha Lee.’ Another not quite I love you but Lena could see it on his face, unspoken in his words. ‘Now,’ Lex says with an impish grin, ‘do you think ice cream will help us study better?’ 

Lena considers his question for several seconds. Then she grins at her brother, ‘yes it will. Ice cream makes everything better.’ 

Lex sets her up with a bowl of her favorite cookie dough and scoops himself some mint chocolate chip. Lena works on her math homework while Lex reads from a textbook that weighed as much as Lena did. When Lena got stuck, Lex would talk the problem through with her, sucking on his spoon when he was listening. Lena tried to do the same for him. Even if she didn’t understand half of what he said but Lex always said she helped and Lex was her big brother. Lex wouldn’t lie to her. If there was one person Lena could trust in the whole world, it was Lex.

* * *

The Luthor’s world shifts when Lena is fourteen. Lionel dies of a heart attack in his home office. He’s found by the maid who runs away screaming. Lillian returns from a trip in France and barricades herself in her room, refusing meals and visitors alike. Lex comes home the next day, dark circles under his eyes. There’s no twinkle in them. No mischief. He knocks politely on Lillian’s door, insistent on seeing her. Lena watches her brother disappear behind the wide double doors of the master bedroom. She cries herself to sleep a second night in a row. 

Lionel would never win father of the year. He was barely around and when he was, he looked at Lena with so much sadness that Lena couldn’t help but feel he regretted her very existence. But with Lex in Metropolis, Lionel had been Lena’s best defense against Lillian’s hatred. When Lillian had demanded Lena take etiquette lessons, Lionel had negotiated the lessons in addition to science camp. When Lillian had insisted on boarding school, Lionel had found one that had the top rated science and mathematics program. Every attempt of Lillian’s to punish Lena for her very existence was tempered by Lionel’s affection for Lena. 

Lena did not cry for Lionel. She supposed she would miss the man but Lena truly cried for herself. She was a true orphan now. An orphan under Lillian’s care. Lena shuddered. Perhaps that was selfish of Lena but then selflessness was never part of the Luthor creed. 

Lena quieted another sob, covering her mouth in an attempt to be quieter. Her glimmer flares then. It glares brightly, illuminating the dark room. Lena is surrounded in green swirls. There’s the soft leaf green of her birth mother, the darker olive that was Lionel, and Lex’s teal. Lena’s own white swirled, curling neatly with the others. Lena knows she has spots of Lillian’s tan on her too but Lena never focuses on those. She wills them to stay as small and distant as possible until they were mere pinpricks. The light flares brighter and Lena almost feels warm to the touch. 

Then the light began to fade until only her hands and arms were aglow. Even that was fading. Her fingers darkened until only a small band of light was glowing on her wrists. The light turns blue, a strong beautiful cobalt blue. It curls in on itself until it becomes writing. Only it isn’t a language she recognises. The words seem to soak out of her skin. The blue light grows brighter for a moment before turning darker and then disappearing altogether. The light disappears but the script does not. 

Lena had heard of secondary traits before. She’d heard of light bonds that were so strong they could transcend time and space. Bonds so strong they could leave marks on the skin of their bearers. Lena had heard of it but she had not ever met someone who shared one. Most of the Luthors dismissed their glimmers. They found them peculiar or annoying but they certainly did not put stock in them. 

‘Luthor’s are not pawns for the universe,’ Lillian often told her, ‘Luthor’s decide for themselves who is important.’ 

It was one of Lena’s earliest lessons. A lesson Lillian had taught her after firing Lena’s nanny after they formed a light bond. Even Lionel had seemed ambivalent about the topic. When Lex had found his own colour, the family had not so much as noted it. Other families considered finding your color an important mark in growing up, a sign of maturity. It was celebrated. Lex had shrugged it off with a small smile for his little sister. 

Lena doesn’t know how she feels about glimmers. Lena loved wearing her mother’s color, loved that she gets to keep that part of her mother with her, alive and well in swirls of summer green. Lena loved the idea that everyone in the Universe had a soul mate or two. People they belonged to, people they belonged with. It was a nice notion, a reassuring one. And then the Universe had given her Lillian. That  _ Lillian Luthor  _ was Lena’s soul mate, a light bond that Lena could never be rid of, was the ultimate insult. It was inexcusable. Unforgivable. Cruel. That was reason enough for Lena’s mistrust of the Universe and its designs for her life. 

The day of the funeral is quiet. The Luthor’s were wealthy and well connected. None who were invited dared refuse attending the funeral but it was hardly a secret that the Luthor’s were not well liked. After the burial, the procession returns to Luthor Manor, where a wake is being held with overly expensive appetisers and even pricier alcohol. People mulled together in quiet murmuring groups, smiling and offering condolences whenever Lillian or Lex wandered by. No one paid much attention to the youngest Luthor. 

‘Nice markings,’ a dark haired man about Lex’s age says approaching Lena in the library. 

Lena glances at her markings warily. They’d neither faded nor become more discernible in the last few days. Lillian had been horrified at their appearance, practically fainting before chastising Lena for ‘permitting’ them. Lex had frowned before promising to look into the language when he had time. ‘Thank you,’ Lena says quietly. 

‘I’ve never seen that language before,’ the man says casually, ‘do you know what it is?’ 

Lena shakes her head, burying her nose back in the book she’d been reading before he had interrupted her. 

‘Are they part of your glimmer?’ The man asks again. Lena sighs and nods, not bothering to look up. She supposed she would have to get used to this if these marks were here to stay. ‘Curious,’ the man says quietly more to himself than to her. 

‘Clark!’ Lex exclaims, ‘Here you are! I wondered where you’d gotten off to!’ 

‘Oh,’ the dark haired man named Clark says with a light blush, ‘I was looking for somewhere quiet when I found her.’ He gestures at Lena. 

Lex grins, ‘ah! This is my baby sister Lena Luthor. Lena,’ Lex says raising an eyebrow, ‘this is my friend Clark Kent.’ 

Lena sits up at the name. She’d heard of Clark. ‘Oh?’ Lena says finally interested, ‘so you’re the one who my brother has a massive-’ 

Lena is cut off by Lex snatching her book away, ‘what’re you reading Lee?’ 

‘Hey!’ Lena says leaping from her seat, ‘give it back!’ She tries to snag her book from her brother’s hands but apparently her teasing had riled him up because Lex was now holding her book high above her head laughing as she swiped at it. ‘You’re an asshole,’ Lena spits out. 

‘Language Lena!’ Lex says in his best imitation of Lillian. 

Clark chuckles, placing a hand on Lex’s back before taking the book from Lex’s dazed fingers. ‘I’m sorry to have bothered you Lena,’ Clark says politely, ‘I was curious.’ 

Lex frowns, his eyes shooting between Lena and Clark in a classic big brother look. ‘Curious about what?’ 

‘Her glimmer,’ Clark says with an easy smile, ‘I didn’t recognise the language.’ 

‘Oh,’ Lex says with understanding, ‘I don’t either. It’s a recent development and we haven’t had time to crack the mystery yet. Not with….’ Lex gestures around them, a flicker of sorrow playing across his handsome face. 

‘Of course,’ Clark says looking genuinely sorry, ‘I probably shouldn’t have asked at all. I’m so sorry.’ 

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Lex says with his easy going grin back in place, ‘leave it to my genius kid sister to match with someone who speaks Ancient Greek or something.’ 

Lena rolls her eyes. Partially because she knew Lex was teasing her. Partially because Lena could read Ancient Greek and whatever language was on her wrist, it was certainly not Greek. 

‘Kid genius huh?’ Clark asks with eyebrows raised, ‘and here I thought Lex was smart.’ 

‘This kid?’ Lex says with a grin, ‘blows me out of the water. She mastered chess at five.’ 

‘Six,’ Lena corrects quietly, Lex rolls his eyes beaming at his little sister. ‘And chess is hardly a measurement of someone’s intelligence.’ 

Clark and Lex share a laugh at that. ‘I’m telling you Clark,’ Lex says again with a fond grin at Lena, ‘you name it and Lena’s smarter than you or I at it. Math, science, English. She’s brilliant. I’ll have to watch out for her in a few years or  _ she’ll  _ be the one running LuthorCorp.’ Then to be annoying, Lex tugs lighting at Lena’s ponytail. 

Clark whistles, ‘you must be smart there Lena. Lex doesn’t praise people lightly.’ The compliment makes both Luthor siblings blush, albeit for different reasons. 

‘Yes, well, it takes a genius to know one,’ Lena offers with her own small smile for her bigger brother, ‘and Lex has taught me everything I know.’ 

That makes Lex roar with laughter that was entirely inappropriate for a wake. Clark chuckles too. He tugs at Lex’s elbow. ‘Sorry for bothering you Lena. We’ll get out of your hair now.’ 

‘Literally,’ Lex says, giving her ponytail another tug before disappearing. Lena rolls her eyes and settles into one of the recliners, ready to read the rest of the day away. Every once in a while, Lena brush a thumb over the writing on her wrist, wondering what it said. She hoped it wasn’t something embarrassing like a grocery list or a common and vaguely metaphorical word like water. Or worse, Lena shudders, misspelled. Lena could only hope against hope that her soul mate was not responsible for Lena having the equivalent of ‘no regerts’ on her wrist for the rest of her life. 


End file.
